Flying with Amelia

Flying with Amelia chronicles the dreams and struggles of a cast of unforgettable characters through more than a hundred years and across a vast landscape as they face challenges and find courage, sometimes in surprising places.

In 1847 a famine ship arrives in Canada from Ireland, and here, the tale begins, weaving through generations and time. A St. John’s boy learns the finer points of communication while his employer receives the first transatlantic wireless signal. A British Home Child finds sorrow and solace on an Ontario farmstead. In 1920s Montreal, a one-armed veteran gambles everything for a future with a beautiful, intelligent, political young woman. In northern Manitoba, German prisoners of war find creative ways to quell boredom. RCMP officers snatch Doukhobor children in British Columbia, while a decade later U.S. draft dodgers find refuge in Canada. In the Maritimes, a young woman answers a personal ad written by a Saskatchewan schoolteacher, resulting in recipes and romance set against a backdrop of unrest during the Great Depression—while the world looks to the skies for hope, inspiration, and a glimpse of a bright wingtip caught in the sun.

From the heady days of the FLQ crisis to the dawning evidence of climate change in Canada’s north, Flying with Amelia weaves a collective identity, taking us on a journey from the first sight of a new land, through a century, and beyond.